Chicago Infant Shot 5 Times in Driveby Dies

Patrice Ellerbe, Staff WriterLast Modified: 02:57 a.m. DST, 14 March 2013

CHICAGO, Illinois - When the words, “There is always somebody getting shot in this neighborhood…” become normal, there is clearly a problem that is not being solved.

On Monday, 11 March 2013, 6-month-old, Jonylah Watkins was shot while her father had been changing her diaper in the families mini-van. According to the Huffington Post, the infant died Tuesday morning in a Chicago hospital.

The Huffington Post reports the infant was rushed to Comer Children’s Hospital on Monday afternoon in serious critical condition. The father of the child, Jonathan Watkins, was also shot and wounded during the drive-by.

The infant had bullet wounds to the lung, liver, leg, shoulder, and intestines, the Huffington Post states. According to DNAinfo Chicago, at least five hours of surgery had been performed since Jonylah’s arrival to Children’s Hospital.

Jonathan Watkins was struck in the side as well as the buttocks, and grazed on the cheek. Another van waited as the shooter fled the scene moments after the deadly shooting. When police arrived on the scene Watkins was immediately transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition, the Huffington Post reports.

The spokesman for the Watkins’ family, Rev. Corey Brooks, announced the infants passing in a statement to the press on Tuesday, 12 March 2013. “We have another tragedy in the city of Chicago”, says Brooks. He continues with, “The city of Chicago should be outraged that in our city a 6-month old baby could be shot and killed”.

A reward for the capturing of the killer has been donated by Brooks’ New Beginnings Church out of the Woodlawn neighborhood and another community group. The reward is set at $6,000 as of now.

Jonathan Watkins spoke to the Chicago Sun Times on Tuesday, stating he was unaware of who could have targeted him and his daughter, and their reasons why. Other sources informed the Times that it could have been a result of a Facebook post. According to CNN, the infant’s father has gang affiliations that may have prompted the shooting.

The Associated Press released a statement form Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy that stated police were not certain about Watkins’ cooperation in the case. The police department feels Watkins was targeted and is investigating the alleged Facebook post.

The Huffington Post reported the mother of the infant, Judy Watkins, was shot while carrying the child. During Monday’s shooting, she was working at McDonald’s. The couple had recently got married, reports read.

Dominique Young, a relative of the family spoke to ABC Chicago. “There is always someone getting shot in this neighborhood. We are close together, and we know them. There are killings all the time.” Attention has been brought to the city of Chicago because of it rising homicides.

In January alone, 40 homicides were reported by police; followed by 56 in February. According to McCarthy, compared to last year’s statistics, homicides are down by 26 percent.

A social campaign established by Chicago native, Bryant Cross, has been flooded with submissions since Jonylah’s shooting. The campaign focuses on getting the message of anti-violence out to citizens.

An arrest has not been made in connections to assault of Jonathan Watkins who is in critical condition, or the fatal shooting of his infant daughter, Jonylah Watkins.

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Related articles

• 6-Month-Old Girl Killed in Another Tragic Chicago Shooting (atlantablackstar.com)
• Shooting that killed 6-month-old likely gang retaliation, source says - Chicago Sun-Times (suntimes.com)
• 6-month-old Chicago girl dies after being shot 5 times (foxnews.com)
• Baby, Johnylah Watkins after being Shot Five Times as Dad Changes Diaper (americanlivewire.com)

Chicago Teen Fatally Shot After Obama Gun Violence Speech

Patrice Ellerbe, Staff WriterLast Modified: 12:53 p.m. EDT, 21 February 2013

CHICAGO, IL. - Hours after President Barak Obama gave his Inaugural speech, in which he pushed for tighter gun control laws; a young woman was fatally shot only one mile from the President’s Chicago home.

The victim was 18-year old Janay Mcfarlane. Earlier that day, McFarlane’s 14 year-old sister witnessed the President’s Inaugural speech, after he was sworn in on 21 January 2013.

Mcfarlane was shot in the head at approximately 11:30 p.m., Friday, 21 January 2013, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The victim had a 3-month old son, and was visiting friends and family in a North Chicago suburb. McFarlane’s mother said the bullet that killed her daughter was meant for a friend.

Police are questioning two suspects who are believed to be in connection with McFarlane’s shooting; however, charges have yet to be filed. Media spoke with Mcfarlane’s mother, Angela Blakely, as she grieved for her daughter, expressing, “I really feel like somebody cut a part of my heart out”.

Just one month ago, another fatal shooting involving 15-year old Hadiya Pendleton shook Chicago residents. The honor student was killed last month in a South Side Chicago park. According to Chicago police, it was a case of mistaken identity, and two suspects have been charged. Not only have there been more than 40 homicides in Chicago during the month of January alone, this makes the death toll the highest in 10 years.

Mcfarlane was affected by Pendleton’s death, as she often expressed to her mother how she felt bad for the victim’s family. Little did she know, she would also be a victim of gun violence. This case, as of many, is still open. Each day action is not taken regarding gun laws, the United States must hear another story such as this one. The media is focusing more on the fact that Mcfarlane’s sister was at President Obama’s gun violence speech. In order to stop reporters like me and others from having to write stories out like this, more than platitudinous speeches need to be delivered.

The fault does not lie entirely with President Obama, but with a society that believes that the right to bear arms/guns, especially those which exceed what is required for protection, such as automatic assault weapons, trumps all other concerns. This thinking, coupled with the powerful and deep pocketed lobbying on behalf of the National Riffle Association (NRA), makes the task of addressing this problem at a granular and thus meaningful level nearly impossible despite evidence that tighter gun control laws do result in decreased rates of gun homicides.

In the United Kingdom firearms are tightly controlled by law and it has one of the lowest rates of gun homicides in the world with 0.07 recorded intentional homicides committed with a firearm per 100,000 inhabitants in 2010 compared to the United States' 5.1 (over 40 times higher). (Source: Wikipedia)

The numbers speak for themselves, and if we hope to one day stop reporting on this type of violence that unfortunately appears to be on the rise in the U.S., then each American must take a hard look at our values, our voice, and our responsibility. There are hundreds of thousands of Mcfarlane's across America, and but for her connection to President Obama's speech, she would be just another anonymous victim of gun violence in a poor, urban area. Our hearts and prayers go out to her family.

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Stalker Kills Mother, Leaves Baby Next To Body

Patrice Ellerbe, Staff WriterLast Modified: 13:34 p.m. EDT, 07 February 2013

EUREKA SPRINGS, Arkansas - When citizens feel that their government has failed to live up to its promises, by no means is it a good feeling. There has been a lot of talk referring to the United States’ gun laws, but little action has been done in order to keep U.S. citizens safe from gun abusers.

Laura Ponce received a call on New Year’s Eve saying her daughter, 21-year old Laura Acevez, had been found unconscious in her apartment.

Her 5-month old son was found unharmed, sitting next to his mother’s bloody body. A .22 caliber bullet was lodged into Acevez’s skull.

This murder could have been avoided if prior action was taken by local authorities. Police searched for Victor Acuna-Sanchez, who is Laura Acevez’s ex-boyfriend. Sanchez is 18 years-old and was under a court order to keep away from his ex-girlfriend. Sanchez also has two previous domestic batter arrests on file.

After Laura’s murder, the police found Sanchez hiding in the shower at his mother’s home. He was armed with the .22 caliber handgun he used to shoot his ex-girlfriend, Laura Acevez.

According to the victim’s mother, Acuna-Sanchez harassed her daughter throughout the entire relationship. Acuna-Sanchez previously strangled, beat the victim with a baseball bat, and dragged her behind a car. During the week before Acevez was killed, she also told her mother that her ex-boyfriend, Acuna-Sanchez poured bleach in her gas tank while his son watched. Acuna-Sanchez then smashed the windshield of the car with a hammer. On top of the physical abuse, Acuna-Sanchez also emotionally abused Acevez. He told her on numerous occasions that if she reported him to the police, he would kill her and her children.

Victor Acuna-Sanchez should have never been allowed or able to own the handgun. Anyone who has been convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offence or who is subjected to domestic violence restraining order cannot legally buy or carry firearms, under federal law. Sanchez did not fit the qualifications to possess a gun. According to the Huffington Post, Johnathan Lowy, director of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence’s Legal Action Project says, “Gun sellers have no way of knowing if someone is a domestic abuser unless there is a background check. This is a real problem”.

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Published: 07 February 2013 (Page 2 of 2)

There have been some speculation and research done on how gun reform can help domestically abused women. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) stated in a hearing that in states that do require background checks for handgun sales, 38% fewer women are shot by their partners. However, others have viewed things differently, arguing more firearms regulations would make it more difficult for women to protect themselves. FBI data from 2010 say’s otherwise.

Handguns are the most common weapons used, according to 2010 FBI data. In the U.S., 64 percent of murdered women are killed by a family member or partner. Having a gun in the home makes a woman eight times more likely to be killed.

Through recent research, it was found out that since the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut on 14 December 2012; more than 90 women were shot and killed by family members or their partners. This is only eight weeks after the shooting.

David Hemenway explains, “The difference in female homicide victimization rates between the U.S. and these other industrialized nations is very large and is closely tied to levels of gun ownership”. Background checks should be provided for all persons attempting to own a gun. The government will need to enforce and be sure that all gun sellers are performing the background checks for potential consumers.

With all of the evidence provided, and each story brought to the public’s attention about shooting and the deadly results, the National Rifle Association is still against the universal background checks. In a “perfect world”, anyone who is not qualified to own a gun or has not had the proper background check performed, should throw their gun in the trash, and not be able to possess one until they meet requirements. However, this is not a “perfect world”, therefore, the question stands, how do we get guns that have already been purchased, out of the abusers possession?

Under federal law, convicted domestic abusers are advised but the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to dispose of their guns as well as ammunition. However, it is up to law officials to actually see this action has been fulfilled. As of now, there has been no one assigned to that task. Therefore, abusers continue to abuse simply because there is no enforcement.

With all of the assault charges Victor Acuna-Sanchez has faced and is facing, there are many questions as to why he was able to have a firearm in his possession. With all of the reports to the police, there are many questions as to why he was able to have a firearm in his possession. Hopefully this is not just another story about a young mother who has been murdered at the hands of her crazy lover. Hopefully, this is a story that sparks action.

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